Edwina: The Unconventional Life of the Countess Mountbatten

A remarkable biography of the Countess Mountbatten, an alluring woman whose ambition, self-belief, and compassion shaped a dynamic life full of contradictions.

Edwina Mountbatten believed in her destiny. Like Winston Churchill, she trusted from an early age that fate had marked her out for greatness. Yet although she was sure of her potential, for the first part of her life she was uncertain where it would take her. Unconventional and avant garde, she exuded too much energy to ever be pinned down. Seen by the world as being many things; an ultra-rich heiress, a promiscuous play-girl and a nomadic traveller, these were just early incarnations, the ultimate Edwina was yet to emerge. Finally, through her humanitarian work both in Britain and abroad she became the woman she was always meant to be.

A perfectionist who was competitive to her core, she always wanted to be the best. She had to be the most fashionable flapper, the most intrepid traveler, the hardest working charity worker. The person she was most in competition with was her husband, Lord Louis Mountbatten. His ambition and dedication to his naval career spurred her on to prove she could be just as successful. She was not the only one to recognize she was as talented as Lord Louis; many people believed she was brighter and even more charismatic than her exceptional partner.

Edwina was a complicated woman, riddled with contradictions. A semi-royal who was a republican, a multi-millionairess who was accused of being a communist, a humanitarian who hugged starving children but lacked the maternal instinct with her own daughters, Lady Mountbatten was hard for people to understand. The only thing that could be certain about Edwina was that she was never predictable.